The present invention relates to sailboards and to the sport of boardsailing. More particularly, it relates to the connection between the boom and mast of a sailboard.
A sailboard consists essentially of: (a) the board or hull; (b) the mast or spar; (c) the sail; and (d) the boom. In its most prevalent form, the boom consists of a generally elliptical assembly of two complementally curved booms, joined at the ends, and commonly called a "wishbone". The mast is connected to the board by a universal connection. The wishbone boom is secured at one of its ends to the mast by some form of connection. Heretofore, the principal method involved lashing, although various mechanical connections have been suggested. It has been recognized that for optimum control of the sailboard the boom-to-mast connection should be solid minimizing the amount of wobble permitted between boom and mast. While lashing is widely used, it is primitive, difficult to master by the beginner, and even when executed correctly yields inconsistent results due to stretching of the rope. Due to the difficulty in effecting an ideal boom-to-mast connection, and the time required to perform the procedure, most boardsailors have the boom and mast connected when transporting the sailboard although it would be desirable to remove the boom and furl the sail around the mast.
Due to the nature of the rope connection of the boom to the mast there is considerable flexibility for rotational motion or wobble about the longitudinal axis of the boom. This flexibility or play is not desirable for very much the same reason that play is to be avoided in any vehicle steering mechanism. The boom is what the boardsailor holds while sailing. It not only provides stability for the sailor but it constitutes the maneuvering device that must be pushed, pulled and turned to change the position of the sail and mast and control the direction of travel. When a maneuver is initiated by manipulating the boom, any slack in the rope connection must be absorbed before the mast and sail can respond. The sail, of course, is attached to the boom at the clew. The more rigid the connection of the boom and mast, the quicker the mast and sail will respond during the various maneuvers of tacking, jibbing, and sailing the various points of sail.
Another problem with the conventional rope connection is it precludes reefing the sail to reduce its area since the sail cannot be furled by wrapping around the mast while the boom is lashed to the mast. Reefing is sometimes necessary, or at least desirable, when a boardsailor is on the water and the wind increases to the point where it overpowers the full sail and makes the craft uncontrollable. If the sailor is offshore and there is an offshore wind that overpowers the craft, the sailor is in danger of being forced away from shore unless the sail area can be reduced and control of the craft can be reestablished. It would be advantageous and an improvement in boardsailing safety if one had the option of reducing the sail area with a convenient method of reefing the sail while on the water.
Mechanical connections for joining the boom to the mast have been proposed, but they have primarily concerned themselves with the problem of improving the speed and reducing the complexity of establishing the required connection. In one arrangement the wishbone is provided with a bracket having a projecting post terminating in a flat head. The headed post is used to enter a keyhole in a latch plate in the mast thereby joining the bracket to the mast. However, this arrangement affords very little restraint against wobbling about the long axis of the wishbone.